Drew Basil probably was looking forward to being a double-duty man for second-ranked Ohio State in his senior season, charged with handling kicking and punting. He considers himself a football player first, and players like to be on the field as much as possible.

But Ohio State coaches went to great lengths — all the way to Australia — to import Cameron Johnston, a 21-year-old former Australian Rules Football player, to do the punting. By all accounts, he has brought the thunder from Down Under, which has allowed Basil, projected in the spring to do both jobs, to concentrate on his specialty.

“It is nice,” Basil said. “I still work on my punting, but not as often. I’m really going at it with field goals and kickoffs now; it’s given me the chance to focus on that.

“With how hard Cameron is working at punting, I feel like I have to work just as hard with the kicking game. I think what drives us both is seeing everyone else out there working as hard as they can.”

There are at least two reasons why coaches prefer specialists over dual performers, the first being that one job usually takes away from the other because they are distinctly different swings of the leg. The second reason is obvious.

“I’ve done it once before when we had a punter get hurt, and a guy had to do both, and it’s not the easiest thing,” said OSU cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs, in his first year as special-teams coordinator.

“Then you really have concerns about, ‘What if he gets hurt?’ Obviously, Drew gives us a great comfort level because he can do both, and can do both exceedingly well.”

But kicking is his major, and the past two seasons as OSU’s choice for field-goal tries, he made 24 of 30 overall. He was 8 of 11 last year, which barely got him mentioned in a category led by Oklahoma State’s Quinn Sharp, who was 28 of 34. With the Buckeyes scoring the fourth-most touchdowns in school history (60), Basil had to satisfy his kicking habit with extra points and kickoffs.

In fact, going into the season finale against Michigan, he was a mere 4 of 6 on field-goal tries before making 4 of 5 in that game. They were crucial kicks in a 26-21 victory that capped a 12-0 season.

“I am all about doing whatever it takes to help this team win,” Basil said.

It’s one of the many things Coombs likes about him.

“His kickoffs are greatly improved,” Coombs said. “We needed better hang time with his kickoffs. ... His accuracy has been really, really solid as a placekicker.

“His maturity and leadership have been overwhelming, not just with the specialists but with the entire team. When coach (Urban) Meyer identifies those kids (who are leading), he’s one of those guys. It’s really great when your kicker can assimilate himself into the environment of the regular position players. Drew has done that. They respect him, they respect his work ethic. He’s not some weirdo kicker that’s over off ... ”

Coombs caught himself before saying something disparaging about specialists.

“He’s doing a great job,” Coombs said. “He is a football player at Ohio State.”